Tyler Herro will be a main piece for the Miami Heat heading into the 2023-24 NBA season. His performances for the team in the 2020 Championship series against the Los Angeles Lakers saw his stocks rise after entering the league in 2019. Since then he has been a valuable member of the Heat side.
However, he is also used as a trade bait for some of the biggest stars that the Heat have tried landing in recent years. This off-season it was Damian Lillard, who was almost on his way to joining Miami before he moved to the Milwaukee Bucks.
According to reports, Herro was one of the centrepieces in the trade for Lillard. But the deal did not materialize as Portland and Miami couldn’t reach a middle ground. Ultimately, Lillard joined the Bucks to team up with Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Herro will still remain in South Florida and will look to prove a point this season by his performances. But he understands why he is always the primary trade bait for the team from the business point of view. During a recent interview with Couper Moorhead, Herro shared that he has kept himself steady and grounded in all circumstances.
“I feel like the HEAT still trust me and believe in me and all of that. I’m happy I’m here. At the end of the day, it’s a business and I try to keep that in perspective at the same time because I’m in the NBA making millions of dollars and setting my family up for the rest of their lives, too,” Herro stated.
“This is where I want to be so that’s why maybe I felt a little disappointed in some way, but I understand the business at the same time,” he added.
It has been a very challenging few months for the former sixth man of the year as he severely injured his hand while trying to recover a ball during Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks. He was on the sidelines throughout the entire playoffs and watched the Heat enter the finals.
Unfortunately, they fell short against Nikola Jokic’s Denver Nuggets in the finals. Herro, who was all set to feature in the finals, was kept on the sidelines as a precautionary measure. He felt it was a missed opportunity for him and also for the team. He believed that he could have become the difference between the two teams.
“Watching the Finals, I just saw so many opportunities for me to do my thing and help the team win. We scored [around 90 points] for three games straight, I just felt like there was an opportunity for me and it was tough just watching,” Herro highlighted.
It will be interesting to see how Herro fares in the upcoming season after returning from injury. Given they have now landed any superstar, Heat will expect Herro to take a bigger role this season alongside Jimmy Butler.
